Back on July 11, the iPhone 3G launched in 22 countries. Along with much fanfare, hippie attention seekers, lines that would stretch out for weeks on end, and constantly crashing servers. But since Apple sold about a million of the hot new handsets that weekend, you just knew they were going to do it again.

20 countries launched the iPhone 3G back on July 11 (okay, zut, France straggled a bit), and Apple hopes to launch some 21 more just 6 short weeks later -- only minus some iTunes authentication failures and supply shortages, no doubt.

Belgium and Romania are said to be exclusive, but this brings Dominican Republic (maybe), Egypt, Portugal, Switzerland, and South Africa (maybe) into the multi-carrier (co-exclusive or non-exclusive) column and for the first time suggests a previously exclusive region, Austria, may no longer be exclusive!